Gunna be a good driving day today !!
 

So for the last 2 weeks, I parked my beloved E46 in front of our Spyder in the garage.. Because of this move, I've been forced to ride the tryke more than usual. I've also been taking turns driving my Silverado and Sienna to/from work. I've also been commuting with my Harley, although with temps in the high 90's, it feels like I'm riding through a huge blast furnace and arriving at work sweating profusely and sometimes smelling like diesel exhaust (gotta love passing semis at 70 mph on the interstate).

So today, I'm driving my BMW for the first time in 2 weeks.

Should feel like the day I picked her up at Ferman BMW in Florida 18 years ago (wow, has it been THAT long ?!?!) when she was brand, spankin' new....

That is all.

;) :cool:

18 years? Wow! I feel like I’m getting so many of these examples lately of “its been HOW long since _______??”

Right ??

Crazy how time flies, especially as one gets older.

It sucks, lol.

She still runs like a top though, thank goodness !!

I love that you still have that car.

Thanks.

I'm one of those people who tries to get their money's worth out of a purchase. It just so happens that this car is one of THE best vehicles I've ever owned, and will most likely keep it until they take the keys away from me due to blindness or slow reflexes.

Although, I'm not quite sure that if I was comfortably wealthy like many members here, that I'd keep such a vehicle for that length of time.

Still, I guess I've developed a fondness for this car, and would feel awful if I just traded/sold her away.

(Wow, I'm really weird, lol.)

:lol: :lol:

There are several long term owners on here. My last car, JST’s Boxster and Plaz’s 1M to name a few. There are others. Do what’s best for you and that’s all that matters. Besides you have lots of “rides” to chose from. Most only have one.

Knocking on wood, but our LR4 was built 7 years ago and we just drove to NH today and remarked about how much we like it. I can't imagine not keeping it for many more years.

There is very good reason to love the E46 ... I wish I still had my 330i, it was one of my favorite cars !!

I miss my E46xiT.

Glad to see you're still enjoying your lesser version. ;)

E46’s were good cars. I really liked the ZHP. It was a great first new car.

I don't know if I'd call the E30, E36, or E46 the best of the 3ers, but I do think it was one of those...which one depends on who makes the call and what their preferences are.

But, the last E46 was the end of its golden era, for sure.

In the 'how long have you had it' mode...

My parents bought the Mustang (for me) in 1979.
My parents bought the E38 (new) in 2001. I brought it up north to me after they passed away in 2007.
I bought my PSD in 2006.
We bought the Yukon new in 2000. Donated it away in 2018 after 270,000 very trouble free miles.
I bought my 2002 in 1983. Stupidly sold it in 2011 (28 years ownership).

Yeah - I tend to keep my cars a while. :P

That's the beauty of the many rides I have. Going from Point A to Point B can never get boring.

Glad to hear many have long-term cars. I thought for sure that I was the only one.

Yeah, it's nice having a vehicle that is the "go-to" or mainstay of the fleet. You can always count on it for getting the job done.

My BMW will forever be that car, because I keep deriving driving pleasure from it, still to this day.

If there was only one regret that I have, is that I didn't have enough in the budget to spring for a 330i back in 2002.

I'd probably still have it if I did, judging from the many former owners who really liked it.

Those touring models are pretty cool, because you don't see many of them.

I've thought it would be cool to drop an S54 in one and make it a sleeper.

It makes a great fourth car too, lol.

Well, I'm glad I got in on it.

This car is my first BMW, and most likely, my last.

That's awesome.

Still surprises me that your Yukon gave you such great and lengthy service. Thought for sure GM products aren't known for their reliability.

You must've gotten lucky with that rig.

I don't think the performance difference was that much back then ... weren't they were both very smooth 6 cylinders with not that much difference in performance ? I would think either model was great.

I had the 2001 330ci and then the 2003 330i ... I loved them both though 2001 had that weird steering issue where they replaced the racks ... I remember BMWNA wanting to use my 330ci as a guinea pig, they asked me to bring it to their location in NJ after it got the rack changed and wanted my opinion ...

I wasn't into the whole thing but that time was fun ... isn't that how a part of this board came together since we were on roadfly then went to bimmerfest then here.

The E46 is a legend and had an impact on most of us here !!!

Yeah, I believe you're right about the performance difference between the two models. It wasn't that big of a difference: the 0-60 times where within 1 second of each other, looking at some specs on the Internet.

I was lucky I didn't have to deal with the steering debacle. That is one of the reasons why I tend to wait until all the issues are worked out, and avoid the first two years of a new model production run when I purchase a new car or bike.

It definitely has on me.

Otherwise, I'd probably have a Lexus IS300, which was in the running when I was shopping for a new RWD sport sedan in 2002 until a Lexus salesman pissed me off and wouldn't let me go on a test drive.

Iirc, his words were "Are you SURE you can afford it ??"

Yeah, ok buddy.

You just lost a sale....